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About Parking Lot Maintenance
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About Winter Springs, FL
People, known as Paleo-Indians, entered Florida at least 14,000 years ago. By the 16th century, the earliest time for which there is a historical record, major groups of people living in Florida included the Apalachee of the Florida Panhandle, the Timucua of northern and central Florida, the Ais of the central Atlantic coast, and the Calusa of southwest Florida.
Florida was the first region of what is now the contiguous United States to be visited and settled by Europeans. The earliest known European explorers came with the Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León. Ponce de León spotted and landed on the peninsula on April 2, 1513. He named it La Florida in recognition of the verdant landscape and because it was the Easter season, which the Spaniards called Pascua Florida (Festival of Flowers). The following day they came ashore to seek information and take possession of this new land. The story that he was searching for the Fountain of Youth is mythical and appeared only long after his death.
In May 1539, Conquistador Hernando de Soto skirted the coast of Florida, searching for a deep harbor to land. He described a thick wall of red mangroves spread mile after mile, some reaching as high as 70 feet (21 m), with intertwined and elevated roots making landing difficult. The Spanish introduced Christianity, cattle, horses, sheep, the Castilian language, and more to Florida. Spain established several settlements in Florida, with varying degrees of success. In 1559, Don Tristán de Luna y Arellano established a settlement at present-day Pensacola, making it the first attempted settlement in Florida, but it was mostly abandoned by 1561.
In 1564–65 there was a French settlement at Fort Caroline, in present Duval County, which was destroyed by the Spanish.
In 1565, the settlement of St. Augustine (San Agustín) was established under the leadership of admiral and governor Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, creating what would become one of the oldest, continuously occupied European settlements in the continental U.S. and establishing the first generation of Floridanos and the Government of Florida. Spain maintained strategic control over the region by converting the local tribes to Christianity. The marriage between Luisa de Abrego, a free black domestic servant from Seville, and Miguel Rodríguez, a white Segovian, occurred in 1565 in St. Augustine. It is the first recorded Christian marriage in the continental United States.
Some Spanish married or had unions with Pensacola, Creek or African women, both slave and free, and their descendants created a mixed-race population of mestizos and mulattos. The Spanish encouraged slaves from the Thirteen Colonies to come to Florida as a refuge, promising freedom in exchange for conversion to Catholicism. King Charles II of Spain issued a royal proclamation freeing all slaves who fled to Spanish Florida and accepted conversion and baptism. Most went to the area around St. Augustine, but escaped slaves also reached Pensacola. St. Augustine had mustered an all-black militia unit defending Spanish Florida as early as 1683.
The geographical area of Spanish claims in La Florida diminished with the establishment of English settlements to the north and French claims to the west. English colonists and buccaneers launched several attacks on St. Augustine in the 17th and 18th centuries, razing the city and its cathedral to the ground several times. Spain built the Castillo de San Marcos in 1672 and Fort Matanzas in 1742 to defend Florida's capital city from attacks, and to maintain its strategic position in the defense of the Captaincy General of Cuba and the Spanish West Indies.
In 1738, the Spanish governor of Florida Manuel de Montiano established Fort Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose near St. Augustine, a fortified town for escaped slaves to whom Montiano granted citizenship and freedom in return for their service in the Florida militia, and which became the first free black settlement legally sanctioned in North America.
In 1763, Spain traded Florida to the Kingdom of Great Britain for control of Havana, Cuba, which had been captured by the British during the Seven Years' War. The trade was done as part of the 1763 Treaty of Paris which ended the Seven Years' War. Spain was granted Louisiana from France due to their loss of Florida. A large portion of the Florida population left, taking along large portions of the remaining indigenous population with them to Cuba. The British soon constructed the King's Road connecting St. Augustine to Georgia. The road crossed the St. Johns River at a narrow point called Wacca Pilatka, or the British name "Cow Ford", reflecting the fact that cattle were brought across the river there.
The British divided and consolidated the Florida provinces (Las Floridas) into East Florida and West Florida, a division the Spanish government kept after the brief British period. The British government gave land grants to officers and soldiers who had fought in the French and Indian War in order to encourage settlement. In order to induce settlers to move to Florida, reports of its natural wealth were published in England. A number of British settlers who were described as being "energetic and of good character" moved to Florida, mostly coming from South Carolina, Georgia and England. There was also a group of settlers who came from the colony of Bermuda. This was the first permanent English-speaking population in what is now Duval County, Baker County, St. Johns County and Nassau County. The British constructed good public roads and introduced the cultivation of sugar cane, indigo and fruits, as well as the export of lumber.
The British governors were directed to call general assemblies as soon as possible in order to make laws for the Floridas, and in the meantime they were, with the advice of councils, to establish courts. This was the first introduction of the English-derived legal system which Florida still has today, including trial by jury, habeas corpus and county-based government. Neither East Florida nor West Florida sent any representatives to Philadelphia to draft the Declaration of Independence. Florida remained a Loyalist stronghold for the duration of the American Revolution.
Spain regained both East and West Florida after Britain's defeat in the Revolutionary War and the subsequent Treaty of Versailles in 1783, and continued the provincial divisions until 1821.
Defense of Florida's northern border with the United States was minor during the second Spanish period. The region became a haven for escaped slaves and a base for Indian attacks against U.S. territories, and the U.S. pressed Spain for reform.
Americans of English and Scots-Irish descent began moving into northern Florida from the backwoods of Georgia and South Carolina. Though technically not allowed by the Spanish authorities and the Floridan government, they were never able to effectively police the border region and the backwoods settlers from the United States would continue to immigrate into Florida unchecked. These migrants, mixing with the already present British settlers who had remained in Florida since the British period, would be the progenitors of the population known as Florida Crackers.
These American settlers established a permanent foothold in the area and ignored Spanish authorities. The British settlers who had remained also resented Spanish rule, leading to a rebellion in 1810 and the establishment for ninety days of the so-called Free and Independent Republic of West Florida on September 23. After meetings beginning in June, rebels overcame the garrison at Baton Rouge (now in Louisiana), and unfurled the flag of the new republic: a single white star on a blue field. This flag would later become known as the "Bonnie Blue Flag".
In 1810, parts of West Florida were annexed by the proclamation of President James Madison, who claimed the region as part of the Louisiana Purchase. These parts were incorporated into the newly formed Territory of Orleans. The U.S. annexed the Mobile District of West Florida to the Mississippi Territory in 1812. Spain continued to dispute the area, though the United States gradually increased the area it occupied. In 1812, a group of settlers from Georgia, with de facto support from the U.S. federal government, attempted to overthrow the Floridan government in the province of East Florida. The settlers hoped to convince Floridians to join their cause and proclaim independence from Spain, but the settlers lost their tenuous support from the federal government and abandoned their cause by 1813.
Traditionally, historians argued that Seminoles based in East Florida began raiding Georgia settlements, and offering havens for runaway slaves. The United States Army led increasingly frequent incursions into Spanish territory, including the 1817–1818 campaign against the Seminole Indians by Andrew Jackson that became known as the First Seminole War. The United States now effectively controlled East Florida. Control was necessary according to Secretary of State John Quincy Adams because Florida had become "a derelict open to the occupancy of every enemy, civilized or savage, of the United States, and serving no other earthly purpose than as a post of annoyance to them."
More recent historians describe that after U.S. independence, settlers in Georgia increased pressure on Seminole lands, and skirmishes near the border led to the First Seminole War (1816–19). The United States purchased Florida from Spain by the Adams-Onis Treaty (1819) and took possession in 1821. The Seminole were moved out of their rich farmland in northern Florida and confined to a large reservation in the interior of the Florida peninsula by the Treaty of Moultrie Creek (1823). Passage of the Indian Removal Act (1830) led to the Treaty of Payne's Landing (1832), which called for the relocation of all Seminole to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). Some resisted, leading to the Second Seminole War, the bloodiest war against Native Americans in United States history. By 1842, however, most Seminoles and Black Seminoles, facing starvation, were removed to Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River. Perhaps fewer than 200 Seminoles remained in Florida after the Third Seminole War (1855–1858), having taken refuge in the Everglades, from where they never surrendered to the US. They fostered a resurgence in traditional customs and a culture of staunch independence.
Florida had become a burden to Spain, which could not afford to send settlers or troops due to the devastation caused by the Peninsular War. Madrid, therefore, decided to cede the territory to the United States through the Adams–Onís Treaty, which took effect in 1821. President James Monroe was authorized on March 3, 1821, to take possession of East Florida and West Florida for the United States and provide for initial governance. Andrew Jackson, on behalf of the U.S. federal government, served as a military commissioner with the powers of governor of the newly acquired territory for a brief period. On March 30, 1822, the U.S. Congress merged East Florida and part of West Florida into the Florida Territory.
By the early 1800s, Indian removal was a significant issue throughout the southeastern U.S. and also in Florida. In 1830, the U.S. Congress passed the Indian Removal Act and as settlement increased, pressure grew on the U.S. government to remove the Indians from Florida. Seminoles offered sanctuary to blacks, and these became known as the Black Seminoles, and clashes between whites and Indians grew with the influx of new settlers. In 1832, the Treaty of Payne's Landing promised to the Seminoles lands west of the Mississippi River if they agreed to leave Florida. Many Seminole left at this time.
Some Seminoles remained, and the U.S. Army arrived in Florida, leading to the Second Seminole War (1835–1842). Following the war, approximately 3,000 Seminole and 800 Black Seminole were removed to Indian Territory. A few hundred Seminole remained in Florida in the Everglades.
On March 3, 1845, only one day before the end of President John Tyler's term in office, Florida became the 27th state, admitted as a slave state and no longer a sanctuary for runaway slaves. Initially its population grew slowly.
As European settlers continued to encroach on Seminole lands, the United States intervened to move the remaining Seminoles to the West. The Third Seminole War (1855–58) resulted in the forced removal of most of the remaining Seminoles, although hundreds of Seminole Indians remained in the Everglades.
The first settlements and towns in South Florida were founded much later than those in the northern part of the state. The first permanent European settlers arrived in the early 19th century. People came from the Bahamas to South Florida and the Keys to hunt for treasure from the ships that ran aground on the treacherous Great Florida Reef. Some accepted Spanish land offers along the Miami River. At about the same time, the Seminole Indians arrived, along with a group of runaway slaves. The area was affected by the Second Seminole War, during which Major William S. Harney led several raids against the Indians. Most non-Indian residents were soldiers stationed at Fort Dallas. It was the most devastating Indian war in American history, causing almost a total loss of population in Miami.
After the Second Seminole War ended in 1842, William English re-established a plantation started by his uncle on the Miami River. He charted the "Village of Miami" on the south bank of the Miami River and sold several plots of land. In 1844, Miami became the county seat, and six years later a census reported there were ninety-six residents in the area. The Third Seminole War was not as destructive as the second, but it slowed the settlement of southeast Florida. At the end of the war, a few of the soldiers stayed.
American settlers began to establish cotton plantations in north Florida, which required numerous laborers, which they supplied by buying slaves in the domestic market. By 1860, Florida had only 140,424 people, of whom 44% were enslaved. There were fewer than 1,000 free African Americans before the American Civil War.
On January 10, 1861, nearly all delegates in the Florida Legislature approved an ordinance of secession, declaring Florida to be "a sovereign and independent nation"—an apparent reassertion to the preamble in Florida's Constitution of 1838, in which Florida agreed with Congress to be a "Free and Independent State." The ordinance declared Florida's secession from the Union, allowing it to become one of the founding members of the Confederate States.
The Confederacy received little military help from Florida; the 15,000 troops it offered were generally sent elsewhere. Instead of troops and manufactured goods, Florida did provide salt and, more importantly, beef to feed the Confederate armies. This was particularly important after 1864, when the Confederacy lost control of the Mississippi River, thereby losing access to Texas beef. The largest engagements in the state were the Battle of Olustee, on February 20, 1864, and the Battle of Natural Bridge, on March 6, 1865. Both were Confederate victories. The war ended in 1865.
Following the American Civil War, Florida's congressional representation was restored on June 25, 1868, albeit forcefully after Reconstruction and the installation of unelected government officials under the final authority of federal military commanders. After the Reconstruction period ended in 1876, white Democrats regained power in the state legislature. In 1885, they created a new constitution, followed by statutes through 1889 that disfranchised most blacks and many poor whites.
In the pre-automobile era, railroads played a key role in the state's development, particularly in coastal areas. In 1883, the Pensacola and Atlantic Railroad connected Pensacola and the rest of the Panhandle to the rest of the state. In 1884 the South Florida Railroad (later absorbed by Atlantic Coast Line Railroad) opened full service to Tampa. In 1894 the Florida East Coast Railway reached West Palm Beach; in 1896 it reached Biscayne Bay near Miami. Numerous other railroads were built all over the interior of the state.
Historically, Florida's economy has been based primarily upon agricultural products such as citrus fruits, strawberries, nuts, sugarcane and cattle. The boll weevil devastated cotton crops during the early 20th century.
Until the mid-20th century, Florida was the least populous state in the southern United States. In 1900, its population was only 528,542, of whom nearly 44% were African American, the same proportion as before the Civil War. Forty thousand blacks, roughly one-fifth of their 1900 population levels in Florida, left the state in the Great Migration. They left due to lynchings and racial violence, and for better opportunities in the North and the West. Disfranchisement for most African Americans in the state persisted until the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s gained federal legislation in 1965 to enforce protection of their constitutional suffrage.
In response to racial segregation in Florida, a number of protests occurred in Florida during the 1950s and 1960s as part of the Civil Rights Movement. In 1956–1957, students at Florida A&M University organized a bus boycott in Tallahassee to mimic the Montgomery bus boycott and succeeded in integrating the city's buses. Students also held sit-ins in 1960 in protest of segregated seating at local lunch counters, and in 1964 an incident at a St. Augustine motel pool, in which the owner poured acid into the water during a demonstration, influenced the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
Economic prosperity in the 1920s stimulated tourism to Florida and related development of hotels and resort communities. Combined with its sudden elevation in profile was the Florida land boom of the 1920s, which brought a brief period of intense land development. In 1925, the Seaboard Air Line broke the FEC's southeast Florida monopoly and extended its freight and passenger service to West Palm Beach; two years later it extended passenger service to Miami. Devastating hurricanes in 1926 and 1928, followed by the Great Depression, brought that period to a halt. Florida's economy did not fully recover until the military buildup for World War II.
In 1939, Florida was described as "still very largely an empty State." Subsequently, the growing availability of air conditioning, the climate, and a low cost of living made the state a haven. Migration from the Rust Belt and the Northeast sharply increased Florida's population after 1945. In the 1960s, many refugees from Cuba fleeing Fidel Castro's communist regime arrived in Miami at the Freedom Tower, where the federal government used the facility to process, document and provide medical and dental services for the newcomers. As a result, the Freedom Tower was also called the "Ellis Island of the South." In recent decades, more migrants have come for the jobs in a developing economy.
With a population of more than 18 million, according to the 2010 census, Florida is the most populous state in the southeastern United States and the third-most populous in the United States. The population of Florida has boomed in recent years with the state being the recipient of the largest number of out-of-state movers in the country as of 2019. Florida's growth has been widespread, as cities throughout the state have continued to see population growth.
In 2012, the killing of Trayvon Martin, a young black man, by George Zimmerman in Sanford drew national attention to Florida's stand-your-ground laws, and sparked African-American activism nationally, including the Black Lives Matter movement.
After Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico in September 2017, a large population of Puerto Ricans began moving to Florida to escape the widespread destruction. Hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans arrived in Florida after Maria dissipated, with nearly half of them arriving in Orlando and large populations also moving to Tampa, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach.
A handful of high-profile mass shootings have occurred in Florida in the twenty-first century. In June 2016, a gunman killed 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando. It is the deadliest incident in the history of violence against LGBT people in the United States, as well as the deadliest terrorist attack in the U.S. since the September 11 attacks in 2001, and was the deadliest mass shooting by a single gunman in U.S. history until the 2017 Las Vegas shooting. In February 2018, 17 people were killed in a school shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, leading to new gun control regulations at both the state and federal level.
On June 24, 2021, a condominium in Surfside, Florida near Miami collapsed, killing at least 97 people. The Surfside collapse is tied with the Knickerbocker Theatre collapse as the third-deadliest structural engineering failure in United States history, behind the Hyatt Regency walkway collapse and the collapse of the Pemberton Mill.
Much of Florida is on a peninsula between the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic Ocean and the Straits of Florida. Spanning two time zones, it extends to the northwest into a panhandle, extending along the northern Gulf of Mexico. It is bordered on the north by Georgia and Alabama, and on the west, at the end of the panhandle, by Alabama. It is the only state that borders both the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. Florida also is the southernmost of the 48 contiguous states, Hawaii being the only one of the fifty states reaching farther south. Florida is west of The Bahamas and 90 miles (140 km) north of Cuba. Florida is one of the largest states east of the Mississippi River, and only Alaska and Michigan are larger in water area. The water boundary is 3 nautical miles (3.5 mi; 5.6 km) offshore in the Atlantic Ocean and 9 nautical miles (10 mi; 17 km) offshore in the Gulf of Mexico.
At 345 feet (105 m) above mean sea level, Britton Hill is the highest point in Florida and the lowest highpoint of any U.S. state. Much of the state south of Orlando lies at a lower elevation than northern Florida, and is fairly level. Much of the state is at or near sea level. However, some places such as Clearwater have promontories that rise 50 to 100 ft (15 to 30 m) above the water. Much of Central and North Florida, typically 25 mi (40 km) or more away from the coastline, have rolling hills with elevations ranging from 100 to 250 ft (30 to 76 m). The highest point in peninsular Florida (east and south of the Suwannee River), Sugarloaf Mountain, is a 312-foot (95 m) peak in Lake County. On average, Florida is the flattest state in the United States.
The climate of Florida is tempered somewhat by the fact that no part of the state is distant from the ocean. North of Lake Okeechobee, the prevalent climate is humid subtropical (Köppen: Cfa), while areas south of the lake (including the Florida Keys) have a true tropical climate (Köppen: Aw, Am, and Af). Mean high temperatures for late July are primarily in the low 90s Fahrenheit (32–34 °C). Mean low temperatures for early to mid January range from the low 40s Fahrenheit (4–7 °C) in north Florida to above 60 °F (16 °C) from Miami on southward. With an average daily temperature of 70.7 °F (21.5 °C), it is the warmest state in the U.S.
In the summer, high temperatures in the state rarely exceed 100 °F (37.8 °C). Several record cold maxima have been in the 30s °F (−1 to 4 °C) and record lows have been in the 10s (−12 to −7 °C). These temperatures normally extend at most a few days at a time in the northern and central parts of Florida. South Florida, however, rarely encounters below freezing temperatures. The hottest temperature ever recorded in Florida was 109 °F (43 °C), which was set on June 29, 1931, in Monticello. The coldest temperature was −2 °F (−19 °C), on February 13, 1899, just 25 miles (40 km) away, in Tallahassee.
Due to its subtropical and tropical climate, Florida rarely receives measurable snowfall. However, on rare occasions, a combination of cold moisture and freezing temperatures can result in snowfall in the farthest northern regions like Jacksonville, Gainesville or Pensacola. Frost, which is more common than snow, sometimes occurs in the panhandle. The USDA Plant hardiness zones for the state range from zone 8a (no colder than 10 °F or −12 °C) in the inland western panhandle to zone 11b (no colder than 45 °F or 7 °C) in the lower Florida Keys. Fog also occurs all over the state or climate of Florida.
Florida's nickname is the "Sunshine State", but severe weather is a common occurrence in the state. Central Florida is known as the lightning capital of the United States, as it experiences more lightning strikes than anywhere else in the country. Florida has one of the highest average precipitation levels of any state, in large part because afternoon thunderstorms are common in much of the state from late spring until early autumn. A narrow eastern part of the state including Orlando and Jacksonville receives between 2,400 and 2,800 hours of sunshine annually. The rest of the state, including Miami, receives between 2,800 and 3,200 hours annually.
Florida leads the United States in tornadoes per area (when including waterspouts), but they do not typically reach the intensity of those in the Midwest and Great Plains. Hail often accompanies the most severe thunderstorms.
Hurricanes pose a severe threat each year from June 1 to November 30, particularly from August to October. Florida is the most hurricane-prone state, with subtropical or tropical water on a lengthy coastline. Of the category 4 or higher storms that have struck the United States, 83% have either hit Florida or Texas.
From 1851 to 2006, Florida was struck by 114 hurricanes, 37 of them major—category 3 and above. It is rare for a hurricane season to pass without any impact in the state by at least a tropical storm.
In 1992, Florida was the site of what was then the costliest weather disaster in U.S. history, Hurricane Andrew, which caused more than $25 billion in damages when it struck during August; it held that distinction until 2005, when Hurricane Katrina surpassed it, and it has since been surpassed by six other hurricanes. Andrew is currently the second-costliest hurricane in Florida's history.
Florida is host to many types of wildlife including:
Florida also has more than 500 nonnative animal species and 1,000 nonnative insects found throughout the state. Some exotic species living in Florida include the Burmese python, green iguana, veiled chameleon, Argentine black and white tegu, peacock bass, mayan cichlid, lionfish, White-nosed coati, rhesus macaque, vervet monkey, Cuban tree frog, cane toad, Indian peafowl, monk parakeet, tui parakeet, and many more. Some of these nonnative species do not pose a threat to any native species, but some do threaten the native species of Florida by living in the state and eating them.
The state has more than 26,000 square miles (67,000 km) of forests, covering about half of the state's land area.
There are about 3,000 different types of wildflowers in Florida. This is the third-most diverse state in the union, behind California and Texas, both larger states. In Florida, wild populations of coconut palms extend up the East Coast from Key West to Jupiter Inlet, and up the West Coast from Marco Island to Sarasota. Many of the smallest coral islands in the Florida Keys are known to have abundant coconut palms sprouting from coconuts deposited by ocean currents. Coconut palms are cultivated north of south Florida to roughly Cocoa Beach on the East Coast and the Tampa Bay Area on the West Coast.
On the east coast of the state, mangroves have normally dominated the coast from Cocoa Beach southward; salt marshes from St. Augustine northward. From St. Augustine south to Cocoa Beach, the coast fluctuates between the two, depending on the annual weather conditions. All three mangrove species flower in the spring and early summer. Propagules fall from late summer through early autumn.[citation needed] Florida mangrove plant communities covered an estimated 430,000 to 540,000 acres (1,700 to 2,200 km) in Florida in 1981. Ninety percent of the Florida mangroves are in southern Florida, in Collier, Lee, Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties.
The Florida Reef is the only living coral barrier reef in the continental United States. It is also the third-largest coral barrier reef system in the world, after the Great Barrier Reef and the Belize Barrier Reef. The reef lies a little bit off of the coast of the Florida Keys. A lot of the reef lies within John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, which was the first underwater park in the United States. The park contains a lot of tropical vegetation, marine life, and seabirds. The Florida Reef extends into other parks and sanctuaries as well including Dry Tortugas National Park, Biscayne National Park, and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Almost 1,400 species of marine plants and animals, including more than 40 species of stony corals and 500 species of fish, live on the Florida Reef. The Florida Reef, being a delicate ecosystem like other coral reefs, faces many threats including overfishing, plastics in the ocean, coral bleaching, rising sea levels, and changes in sea surface temperature.
Florida is a low per capita energy user. As of 2008, it is estimated that approximately 4% of energy in the state is generated through renewable resources. Florida's energy production is 6% of the nation's total energy output, while total production of pollutants is lower, with figures of 6% for nitrogen oxide, 5% for carbon dioxide, and 4% for sulfur dioxide. Wildfires in Florida occur at all times of the year.
All potable water resources have been controlled by the state government through five regional water authorities since 1972.
Red tide has been an issue on the southwest coast of Florida, as well as other areas. While there has been a great deal of conjecture over the cause of the toxic algae bloom, there is no evidence that it is being caused by pollution or that there has been an increase in the duration or frequency of red tides. Red tide is now killing off wildlife or Tropical fish and coral reefs putting all in danger.
The Florida panther is close to extinction. A record 23 were killed in 2009, mainly by automobile collisions, leaving about 100 individuals in the wild. The Center for Biological Diversity and others have therefore called for a special protected area for the panther to be established. Manatees are also dying at a rate higher than their reproduction. American flamingos are rare to see in Florida due to being hunted in the 1900s, where it was to a point considered completely extirpated. Now the flamingos are reproducing toward making a comeback to South Florida since it is adamantly considered native to the state and also are now being protected.
Much of Florida has an elevation of less than 12 feet (3.7 m), including many populated areas. Therefore, it is susceptible to rising sea levels associated with global warming. The Atlantic beaches that are vital to the state's economy are being washed out to sea due to rising sea levels caused by climate change. The Miami beach area, close to the continental shelf, is running out of accessible offshore sand reserves. Elevated temperatures can damage coral reefs, causing coral bleaching. The first recorded bleaching incident on the Florida Reef was in 1973. Incidents of bleaching have become more frequent in recent decades, in correlation with a rise in sea surface temperatures. White band disease has also adversely affected corals on the Florida Reef.
The Florida peninsula is a porous plateau of karst limestone sitting atop bedrock known as the Florida Platform.
The largest deposits of potash in the United States are found in Florida. The largest deposits of rock phosphate in the country are found in Florida. Most of this is in Bone Valley.
Extended systems of underwater caves, sinkholes and springs are found throughout the state and supply most of the water used by residents. The limestone is topped with sandy soils deposited as ancient beaches over millions of years as global sea levels rose and fell. During the last glacial period, lower sea levels and a drier climate revealed a much wider peninsula, largely savanna. While there are sinkholes in much of the state, modern sinkholes have tended to be in West-Central Florida. Everglades National Park covers 1,509,000 acres (6,110 km), throughout Dade, Monroe, and Collier counties in Florida. The Everglades, an enormously wide, slow-flowing river encompasses the southern tip of the peninsula. Sinkhole damage claims on property in the state exceeded a total of $2 billion from 2006 through 2010. Winter Park Sinkhole, in central Florida, appeared May 8, 1981. It was approximately 350 feet (107 m) wide and 75 feet (23 m) deep. It was notable as one of the largest recent sinkholes to form in the United States. It is now known as Lake Rose. The Econlockhatchee River (Econ River for short) is an 87.7-kilometer-long (54.5 mi) north-flowing blackwater tributary of the St. Johns River, the longest river in the U.S. state of Florida. The Econ River flows through Osceola, Orange, and Seminole counties in Central Florida, just east of the Orlando Metropolitan Area (east of State Road 417). It is a designated Outstanding Florida Waters.
Earthquakes are rare because Florida is not located near any tectonic plate boundaries.
The largest metropolitan area in the state as well as the entire southeastern United States is the Miami metropolitan area, with about 6.06 million people. The Tampa Bay Area, with more than 3.02 million, is the second largest; the Orlando metropolitan area, with more than 2.44 million, is third; and the Jacksonville metropolitan area, with more than 1.47 million, is fourth.
Florida has 22 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) defined by the United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Forty-three of Florida's 67 counties are in an MSA.
The legal name in Florida for a city, town or village is "municipality". In Florida there is no legal difference between towns, villages and cities.
Florida is a highly urbanized state, with 89 percent of its population living in urban areas in
2000, compared to 79 percent nationally.
In 2012, 75% of the population lived within 10 miles (16 km) of the coastline.
The United States Census Bureau estimated that the population of Florida was 21,477,737 on July 1, 2019, a 14.24% increase since the 2010 United States census. The population of Florida in the 2010 census was 18,801,310. Florida was the seventh fastest-growing state in the U.S. in the 12-month period ending July 1, 2012. In 2010, the center of population of Florida was located between Fort Meade and Frostproof. The center of population has moved less than 5 miles (8 km) to the east and approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) to the north between 1980 and 2010 and has been located in Polk County since the 1960 census. The population exceeded 19.7 million by December 2014, surpassing the population of the state of New York for the first time, making Florida the third most populous state. The Florida population was 21,477,737 residents or people according to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2019 Population Estimates Program. By the 2020 census, its population increased to 21,538,187.
As of 2011, Florida contains the highest percentage of people over 65 (17.3%) in the U.S. There were 186,102 military retirees living in the state in 2008. About two-thirds of the population was born in another state, the second-highest in the U.S.
In 2010, undocumented immigrants constituted an estimated 5.7% of the population. This was the sixth highest percentage of any U.S. state. There were an estimated 675,000 illegal immigrants in the state in 2010. Florida has banned sanctuary cities.
In 2020, Hispanic and Latinos of any race(s) made up 26.5% of the population, while Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders made up 0.1% of all Broward County residents.
In 2010, 6.9% of the population (1,269,765) considered themselves to be of only American ancestry (regardless of race or ethnicity). Many of these were of English or Scotch-Irish descent; however, their families have lived in the state for so long they choose to identify as having "American" ancestry or do not know their ancestry. In the 1980 United States census, the largest ancestry group reported in Florida was English with 2,232,514 Floridians claiming they were of English or mostly English American ancestry. Some of their ancestry dated to the original thirteen colonies.
As of 2010, those of (non-Hispanic white) European ancestry accounted for 57.9% of Florida's population. Out of the 57.9%, the largest groups were 12.0% German (2,212,391), 10.7% Irish (1,979,058), 8.8% English (1,629,832), 6.6% Italian (1,215,242), 2.8% Polish (511,229), and 2.7% French (504,641). White Americans of all European backgrounds are present in all areas of the state. In 1970, non-Hispanic whites constituted nearly 80% of Florida's population. Those of English and Irish ancestry are present in large numbers in all the urban/suburban areas across the state. Some native white Floridians, especially those who have descended from long-time Florida families, may refer to themselves as "Florida crackers"; others see the term as a derogatory one. Like whites in most other states of the southern U.S., they descend mainly from English and Scots-Irish settlers, as well as some other British American settlers.
As of 2010, those of Hispanic or Latino ancestry accounted for 22.5% (4,223,806) of Florida's population. Out of the 22.5%, the largest groups were 6.5% (1,213,438) Cuban, and 4.5% (847,550) Puerto Rican. Florida's Hispanic population includes large communities of Cuban Americans in Miami and Tampa, Puerto Ricans in Orlando and Tampa, and Mexican/Central American migrant workers. The Hispanic community continues to grow more affluent and mobile. Florida has a large and diverse Hispanic population, with Cubans and Puerto Ricans being the largest groups in the state. Nearly 80% of Cuban Americans live in Florida, especially South Florida where there is a long-standing and affluent Cuban community. Florida has the second-largest Puerto Rican population after New York, as well as the fastest-growing in the nation. Puerto Ricans are more widespread throughout the state, though the heaviest concentrations are in the Orlando area of Central Florida. Florida has one of the largest and most diverse Hispanic/Latino populations in the country, especially in South Florida around Miami, and to a lesser degree Central Florida. Aside from the dominant Cuban and Puerto Rican populations, there are also large populations of Mexicans, Colombians, Venezuelans and Dominicans, among numerous other groups, as most Latino groups have sizable numbers in the state.
As of 2010, those of African ancestry accounted for 16.0% of Florida's population, which includes African Americans. Out of the 16.0%, 4.0% (741,879) were West Indian or Afro-Caribbean American. During the early 1900s, black people made up nearly half of the state's population. In response to segregation, disfranchisement and agricultural depression, many African Americans migrated from Florida to northern cities in the Great Migration, in waves from 1910 to 1940, and again starting in the later 1940s. They moved for jobs, better education for their children and the chance to vote and participate in society. By 1960, the proportion of African Americans in the state had declined to 18%. Conversely, large numbers of northern whites moved to the state. Today, large concentrations of black residents can be found in northern and central Florida. Aside from blacks descended from African slaves brought to the southern U.S., there are also large numbers of blacks of West Indian, recent African, and Afro-Latino immigrant origins, especially in the Miami/South Florida area. Florida has the largest West Indian population of any state, originating from many Caribbean countries, with Haitian Americans being the most numerous.
In 2016, Florida had the highest percentage of West Indians in the United States at 4.5%, with 2.3% (483,874) from Haitian ancestry, 1.5% (303,527) Jamaican, and 0.2% (31,966) Bahamian, with the other West Indian groups making up the rest.
As of 2010, those of Asian ancestry accounted for 2.4% of Florida's population.
In 1988, English was affirmed as the state's official language in the Florida Constitution. Spanish is also widely spoken, especially as immigration has continued from Latin America. About twenty percent of the population speak Spanish as their first language. Twenty-seven percent of Florida's population reports speaking a mother language other than English, and more than 200 first languages other than English are spoken at home in the state.
The most common languages spoken in Florida as a first language in 2010 are:
Florida is mostly Christian (70%), although there is a large irreligious and relatively significant Jewish community. Protestants account for almost half of the population, but the Catholic Church is the largest single denomination in the state mainly due to its large Hispanic population and other groups like Haitians. Protestants are very diverse, although Baptists, Methodists, Pentecostals and nondenominational Protestants are the largest groups. Smaller Christian groups include The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Jehovah's Witnesses. There is also a sizable Jewish community in South Florida. This is the largest Jewish population in the southern U.S. and the third-largest in the U.S. behind those of New York and California.
In 2010, the three largest denominations in Florida were the Catholic Church, the Southern Baptist Convention, and the United Methodist Church.
The Pew Research Center survey in 2014 gave the following religious makeup of Florida:


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Racial slurs accompanied beatings and abuse, witnesses claim
DOVER — Racial slurs were uttered when a New Durham woman allegedly assaulted and starved a young boy in her home, witnesses said on the third day of a child abuse trial in Strafford County Superior Court, set to continue for the next few weeks.
One witness testified on Thursday, Christina Thomas, the woman on trial, allegedly paddled the bottom of the victim's mother while yelling racial epithets and at other times, called the child names based on his race.
State witness Brian "Jeff" Strouth, 41, who had a relationship with a cousin of Thomas, said when visiting the Birch Hill Road home in New Durham he could hear Thomas beating the mother and calling her names in another room. He said he also heard Thomas call the young boy a slur, and saw her place him in a dog kennel.
On the first day of this trial, Deputy Strafford County Attorney Alysia Cassotis warned the jury some of this testimony would play out like a "Lifetime (television) movie," and it would become clear many people let the victim down in this case by not reporting the acts sooner.
Several people testified Thursday that when allegedly witnessing the boy chained to his bed, deprived of food, not fed for days and placed in the kennel in the basement for hours, none of them reported the incidents. Some confronted Thomas about the situation, but most said they dared not to because they were "too intimidated" by her.
The young boy, who is not being identified by Foster's, lived with his biological mother in Thomas' home from the time of his birth until he was about 6½ years old. His mother suffers from a developmental disability and placed herself and her child in the care of Thomas, who she knew from years earlier when they were teenagers, according to the county attorney's office and witness statements. Investigators say the assaults occurred from between 2006 and 2010.
Christina "Tina" Thomas, 33, of 214 Birch Hill Road, is on trial for first-degree assault, for allegedly failing to provide proper nutrition to the boy in this case, now 9 years old. Thomas was indicted in December 2011 and today, the child is in an open adoptive relationship with his biological mother and new adoptive family. He is recovering from when he was found at the age of 7, weighing just 23.6 pounds.
Thomas's mother, Peggy Starr, has also been charged with second-degree assault in this case for alleged abuse of the victim, and she is set to go to trial some time later in the spring.
Both women have been released on personal recognizance bail and ordered to have no unsupervised contact with children under the age of 16.
Cassotis said Thomas still has some simple assault charges and a felony criminal threatening charge against her, for her alleged abuse of the boy's mother as well, though there is a statute of limitations that allows the county attorney's office some additional time before trying those charges separately.
During a recess on Thursday, Cassotis said she believes all of these facts, particularly the ones indicating racial motivations at play, point to Thomas' "intent" to knowingly carry out her alleged crimes.
The state previously filed a motion to introduce "prior bad acts" in this trial, to demonstrate Thomas' alleged pattern of bad behavior, though typically that is not allowed.
So far, the state has called to the stand residents who say they saw one of Thomas' friend's children left unsupervised, who was standing in the middle of a road, and the biological mother testified a knife was held to her throat by Thomas, and her face was pushed into a cake pan when she was allegedly bullied by Thomas to consume the entire thing in one sitting.
Several of the state witnesses who testified said they were afraid of retaliation from Thomas' family for testifying, some saying they would not be there if they had not been subpoenaed.
Cassotis asked Strouth if he had "concerns," to which he replied he feared "backlash" from the family.
Another witness, Jocelyn Crate, 30, testified Thomas' family descended on her Wednesday in the Dover court parking lot, calling her an "(expletive) home wrecker" for agreeing to take the stand. Crate said she lived with Thomas as well as her fiancée, Crystal Dufault, who also had a sexual relationship with Thomas at the time, in 2011. Crate also claimed she saw Thomas skipping and smiling inside the court this week, acting like "all is grand," she said and had previously heard Thomas joking about the case and acting like she was not taking it seriously.
Thomas chewed gum during the third day of her trial, while her mother, Starr, sat rows behind her with another woman who was knitting throughout the day.
The Strafford County attorney's office is attempting to prove Thomas was in the primary care position of the victim at the time of these acts and she knowingly deprived the boy of food resulting in a "failure to thrive." Previously, Cassotis said the removal of food was used as a punishment and the tactic was even written into the victim's Individualized Education Program (IEP) at the New Durham School which some paraprofessionals carried out for a short time.
The defense is arguing the state's witnesses all have "ax(es) to grind" when it comes to their relationships with Thomas and many are exaggerating the truth or lying. Defense attorney Steven Keable said in his opening statement Thomas took so many people into her home because she "has a big heart."
In a line of questioning, Keable attempted several times to point out conflicting facts provided by witnesses in their testimonies as compared to statements previously given to investigators. He pointed to some who said they witnessed bad things happening to the child but never reported it. He repeatedly asked one witness, Melissa Hamel, why she "still liked" Thomas even after seeing her do bad things to both the young boy and his mother.
Some of the cross-examination grew contentious as some of the people who previously lived with Thomas said they owed a lot to her, and felt bad for speaking poorly against her.
"(But) I feel justice has to be done," Hamel said, adding she heard from Thomas she only kept the boy and his mother in her home to allegedly collect money from the state.
Thursday's trial began with Thomas requesting a different attorney before Judge John M. Lewis prior to the jury being seated. She told the judge Keable does not have a "positive attitude" about her case and was forgetting to bring up facts she had provided him with earlier.
"I don't stand a chance," she said.
Lewis encouraged Thomas to take a recess and have a "heart to heart" with her attorney about what to do moving forward, noting attorneys are not supposed to be their clients' friends. Thomas opted to stick with Keable after an approximate 30-minute break, and took the opportunity to call several recesses throughout the rest of the day to consult with him privately during witness' testimonies.
The case will continue today pending the outcome of a predicted snowstorm, and teachers and doctors are expected to be called to the stand later this month.

subset: commoncrawl


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Ask most people on Capitol Hill and they'll say: 50-50. Those are the odds they give for a government shutdown.
An alternative to the shutdown would be a proposed delay of the individual mandate, the most painful part of Obamacare, which may seem like a Republican victory but on closer inspection would be a win for President Obama and Democrats.
Historians — or commentators, in the meantime — might view either of these possible outcomes as yet another "Putinesca" victory for the president: Saved by the enemy.
Just as Russian President Vladimir Putin emerged at the brink of the U.S. bombing of Syria to orchestrate an alternative solution, Republicans may have provided a rip cord for Obama.
Postponement of the individual mandate is part of the GOP bargaining package on raising the debt ceiling. Delay it for a year, say Republican leaders, and they'll raise the debt limit for a year to keep the government operating.
At least one Democrat, Joe Manchin, has conceded that this would be a pretty good idea since the health-care overhaul obviously isn't ready. The many flaws have been fully vetted for months, though new ones continue to reveal themselves as we approach the insurance-exchange shopping spree scheduled to begin in a few days.
Latest to the fraying Affordable (now "Adorable") Care Act is a technological glitch in online applications for small businesses. It isn't ready yet and will be delayed.
What is ready, and adorable, is a sampler of new ads aimed at children who are still fretful about the new plan. Oh, wait, no. The ads, featuring baby ducks and kittens — purring and feeling ducky about Obamacare — are aimed at adults. They're certifiably cute, but one can't escape the thought that the federal government has skipped all pretense at treating Americans as adults. Naptime, anyone?
To be fair, Sen. Ted Cruz read Dr. Seuss's "Green Eggs and Ham" to his children during his 21-hour un-filibuster. The muse whispers: "Ted Cruz would send Ronald Reagan back to the Democratic Party."
Here's the problem for Republicans, which will not be news to those with a view of the long game. The short game is to stall Obamacare, but to what end ultimately? Until Republicans can seize the Senate in 2014 and the White House in 2016, at which point they can repeal the whole thing?
Skinny chance, that.
More likely, whether the government shuts down or, should Tinker Bell suddenly materialize and persuade Obama to cave and postpone his personal dream act, Republicans will be viewed by a greater majority than previously as having no talent for leadership.
And if the debt ceiling isn't raised and the United States defaults, threatening our full faith and credit around the world and sending countries looking favorably for other currencies, not to mention the financial fallout here, then blame will fall at the feet of the Republican Party. No surprise there.
Now consider the alternative scenario: Suppose Republicans succeed in getting the individual mandate delayed for a year — right up to the 2014 midterm elections. Bravo, right? Not necessarily. If voters don't have to experience the uncertainty and discomfort of being forced to buy insurance in an unwieldy, dysfunctional system — all the while noticing that millions are still without coverage — who benefits?
Surely not the Republicans, who, on the one hand, can be blamed for depriving insurance coverage to those poor sick kittens and ducklings. On the other, they accrue no benefit from having prevented the pain of implementing Obamacare.
Republicans lose either way, but they may lose biggest if they win.
Alternatives to present circumstances do not abound. Republicans have drawn their line in the sand. Democrats have drawn theirs. Obama says no negotiating over the debt ceiling, period.
There is one alternative that is both perhaps best for the country and hardest for Obama. He could relent not to Republicans but to the greater good. He could delay full implementation past the 2014 elections, which would accomplish two things: One, he could iron out the wrinkles that are now apparent. Two, Democrats would get to slide through another election cycle without the most visibly painful part of Obamacare — the individual mandate.
What, really, does Obama have to lose? Only face, the pain of which passes. What he would gain is the legacy that escapes so many these days — proof that he is a leader who does the right thing, even if it hurts his pride just a little.
Republicans, who will have banished themselves to wander a while longer in the desert, may have drawn a line too far.
Read more from Kathleen Parker's archive, follow her on Twitter or find her on Facebook.
Read more about this issue:
Eugene Robinson: The GOP in fantasyland
Dana Milbank: Republicans' Obamacare search-and-destroy mission
E.J. Dionne Jr.: Republicans are desperate for a shutdown
Eugene Robinson: Obama must not yield on Obamacare, debt ceiling or shutdown


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BBB Watch: Car advertising
Car advertising may focus on style, speed and brand, but it's the initial price and costs of operating a vehicle that are the key interests for people car shopping, according to the results of a recent poll taken by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) serving Chicago and northern Illinois.
Price was the leading factor, with 29 percent of survey respondents picking it as their primary consideration. This was followed by gas mileage, stated by 17 percent, and costs of service and warranty, cited by another 12 percent. These economic factors totaled 58 percent of the concerns survey respondents had when looking for a new vehicle.
"Buying a vehicle is a major purchase an individual or family can make, so it is reassuring that economic considerations are primary for buyers," said Steve J. Bernas, president and CEO of the Chicago BBB. "Other factors, like looks and performance may be influences, but our poll shows it is dollar concerns that outweigh other factors."
While the features of a new car were picked by 19 percent of the respondents as a consideration, they were outweighed by the cost issues by a three-to-one margin. Also taking a backseat in car buying considerations were online ratings of dealers, selected by 9 percent as important; previous dealer relationship, 8 percent; and picking the same brand as a previous car, 6 percent.
Visit BBB's website for more consumer tips at www.bbb.org.


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Besides being in the midst of the 12 Days of Christmas, we're also in the throes of college football's bowl season. It used to be that you could tick off the big bowl games with no problem at all: Cotton, Orange, Sugar, Sun, and the "granddaddy of them all" the Rose Bowl. Now, with the explosion of both bowl games and their often obscure sponsors, it seems that getting into a bowl game is a God-given right for every mediocre football team in the nation.
It takes a true college football fan (or someone desperate to avoid interacting with their family) to get jazzed about the Meineke Car Care Bowl, the Franklin American Mortgage Bowl, the Chick-Fil-A Bowl, the Godaddy.com Bowl, or the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
With the plethora of bowl games out there, I thought why should the Episcopal Church get left out of the old bowl game? Here are some potential sponsors and match-ups to keep us going while we sit around insisting that Christmas is not over but just kicking off on December 25th!
The Taylor Tawny Port Bowl
Trinity College (CT) vs. Hobart and William Smith
What better way to honor the single most-used communion wine in the Episcopal Church? (Of age) undergrads hand out pre-consecrated samples during halftime as we attempt to set the Guinness Book of World Records mark for largest communion liturgy (without a sermon).
The C.M. Almy Bowl
Kenyon College vs. Sewanee
The in-game referees are comprised of the male Almy catalog models looking particularly pious as they call that offensive holding penalty. The cheerleaders are made up of the female catalog models looking uncomfortable in ill-fitting female clergy shirts. The good news is that all paying customers are given a free Lenten array stole. The bad news is that it's on back order.
The Usher Bowl
College of Preachers vs. College of Cardinals
This highly organized affair will insure sure everyone is seated before kickoff. On the off chance that a spectator is late, they won't be seated until the first timeout is called. Sure it's a bummer when the ushers pass the collection plate during halftime but you can always pull the old fold-the-single-dollar-bill-so-it-looks-like-an-$11-bill trick. Please note: despite the rumors, the recording artist Usher will not be performing during the halftime show.
The Forward Movement Bowl
Bard College vs. Random College from England
While it's tough to read the players' names in the scorecard because it's printed in tract-size, this bowl gets the participants out of the cramped narthex and onto the playing field. This bowl is marked by a single rule change — forward laterals are legal. All players are presented with a signed copy of former Presiding Bishop Edmund Browning's biography to regift.
The Bad Coffee in Styrofoam Cups Bowl
William and Mary vs. Voorhees College
Unique among bowl games, the BCSC Bowl is played neither in an open air stadium nor in a dome but in an ill-lit undercroft. This bowl usually peters out midway through the 3rd quarter as the weak coffee puts spectators and players alike into a catatonic state. The parking lot is conveniently located adjacent to a land-fill so fans can toss their cups away with full confidence that they will remain intact until the eschaton.
And, finally, the godfather of them all…
The Lent Madness Bowl
Scott Gunn vs. Tim Schenck
There's nothing like a little Lenten foreshadowing during the Christmas season to get people excited about Lent Madness. The astroturf is painted purple in honor of this upcoming season of repentance — sure this, along with the purple football, make it hard to track on TV but who said the Christian life was easy? Fans cast their votes online (one vote per person!) to determine whether the halftime show will feature local clergy engaged in synchronized self-flagellation or Tim and Scott challenging one another in a Family Feud-style Prayer Book rubric violation quiz show.
I hope you enjoy yourself during this year's bowl season. And, remember, when you're at that Alabama vs. Notre Dame National Championship party, don't pronounce "Notre Dame" with a French accent. It'll make you look like an amateur.


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- March 28: Honda Side Mirrors Can Fall Off, Recall Announced recalls | 2 days ago
- March 26: Honda Civic Sticky Steering Wheel Complaints Cause Investigation investigations | 4 days ago
- March 15: Honda Seat Belt Buckle Recall Includes 500,000 Vehicles recalls | 15 days ago
- February 7: Honda Fit and Honda HR-V Recalled Over Backup Camera Images recalls | 51 days ago
- February 3: Exploding Airbag Warning: Stop Driving 2001-2003 Honda Vehicles recalls | 55 days ago
Transmission Failure
2004 Honda Accord (Page 1 of 11)
This problem may be covered under warranty. Ask your Honda dealer.
CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2004 Honda Accord suffers from widespread transmission failure & problems with the stereo backlight failing. We recommend avoiding this model year like the plague.
The transmission begins slipping & eventually has to be replaced, typically soon after 90,000 miles & with a repair cost of over $2,000. Transmission failure has been a huge problem for the Accord & several other Honda models all through the early 2000s model years. Honda extended the transmission warranty to 93 months/109k miles for the 2000-2001 Accord as a class action lawsuit settlement, but owners of other Accord model years with transmission problems are out of luck.
The stereo backlight problem has been an issue ever since these Accords were only a few years old. Honda eventually issued a recall which covered the repair for 7 years/100k miles, which was nice while it lasted but now that period is over. Honda initially replaced the entire radio ($800) but eventually began replacing just the PCB which at ~$300 is much cheaper. That sounds like a deal, but keep in mind we're talking about a backlight bulb that costs $2 to fix in most other cars.
9.3really awful
- Typical Repair Cost:
- $2,990
- Average Mileage:
- 109,950 miles
- Total Complaints:
- 207 complaints
Most Common Solutions:
- not sure (67 reports)
- paid for a new transmission (46 reports)
- replace transmission (39 reports)
- complete rebuild (15 reports)
- honda paid partial "goodwill repair" (15 reports)
- fixed with new warranty from transmission specialty shop (9 reports)
transmission problem
Helpful websites
- No one has added a helpful site for this 2004 Accord problem yet. Be the first!


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About Sombrio
Born from a need to break free from road-based clothing and all things Lycra, Sombrio was founded in 1998-and is still led today-by pro freerider David Watson. Based in the North Shore Mountains of Vancouver, British Columbia, Sombrio draws from its woodland roots to bring not only technical apparel but also streetwear to the mountain-biking masses. Sombrio is one of the first bike companies driven by riders, for riders. From what started as a whim, Sombrio gained momentum through word of mouth to become one of the most trusted names in mountain biking.


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Chris Klein
Life Path Number 7
Chris Klein is an American actor of German, Irish, and English descent, best known for playing Chris 'Oz' Ostreicher in the American Pie comedy teen films, an American pilot in the Damien Lay film The Uberkanone, and for co-starring in the film Authors Anonymous.
He was born on Wednesday March 14th 1979, in Hinsdale, Illinois, United States.
Chris Klein is the searcher and the seeker of the truth. He has a clear and compelling sense of himself as a spiritual being. As a result, Chris' life path is devoted to investigations into the unknown, and finding the answers to the mysteries of life.
Klein is well-equipped to handle his task. He possesses a fine mind, and is an analytical thinker, capable of great concentration and theoretical insight. Chris Klein enjoys research, and putting the pieces of an intellectual puzzle together. Once he has enough pieces in place, Chris is capable of highly creative insight and practical solutions to problems.
Chris Klein enjoys his solitude and prefers to work alone. He needs time to contemplate his ideas without the intrusion of other people's thoughts. Chris is a lone wolf, a person who lives by his own ideas and methods. As a result, close associations are difficult for him to form and keep, especially marriage. Klein needs his space and privacy, which, when violated, can cause him great frustration and irritation.
When his life is balanced, however, Chris Klein is both charming and attractive. He can be the life of a party, and enjoy performing before an audience. Chris enjoys displaying his wit and knowledge, which makes him attractive to others, especially the opposite sex.
But Klein has distinct limits. While he is generous in social situations, sharing his attention and energy freely, he is keenly aware of the need to "come off stage" and return to the solitude of his lair. Chris Klein associates peace with the unobtrusive privacy of his world. Therefore, intimacy is difficult for Chris, because he guards his inner world like a mother lion does her cubs.
All this privacy and aloneness can cause isolation and loneliness, however. Chris Klein can be aware of an emptiness in his life, a part of him that yearns for company and close companionship that may be unsatisfied.
If isolation is brought to the extreme, Chris can become cynical and suspicious. He might develop hidden, selfish motives, which people may sense and may cause them discomfort around him. Klein must guard against becoming too withdrawn and independent, thus shutting out the love of others and keeping him from experiencing the true joy of friendship and close companionship.
Chris Klein must especially watch out for selfishness and egocentricity, thinking of himself as the center of the universe, the only person who really matters. Social contact gives Chris perspective on himself and on life, while too much isolation can make him too narrow and even shut off from the rest of the world.
Secretly, Klein may feel jealous of the easy relationships formed by others; he may perceive others as less inhibited than him, or more free to express themselves. He may harshly criticize himself for not being more gregarious, powerful, or capable of greater leadership.
Chris Klein's challenge in life is to maintain his independence without feeling isolated or ineffectual. He must hold fast to his unique view on the world, while at the same time being open to others and the knowledge they have to offer.
With his abilities to learn, analyze, and seek out answers to life's important questions, Chris Klein has the potential for enormous growth and success in life. By the time he reaches middle age, Chris will radiate refinement and wisdom.
Pythagoras loved the seven for its great spiritual potential.
You and Chris
About Chris' Life Path number
If ever there was a single moment of total transformation, it was actually the moment of Chris Klein's birth. In that instant, Chris stepped through a door in time into a new reality - the reality of human life. The most critical number in Klein's numerology chart is based on the date of his birth - the moment when the curtain went up in Chris Klein's life.
Read more about our numerological interpretation of Chris Klein's


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Are you looking for an insurance Agent in the Dublin area that can insure your classic car? Hagerty has partnered with local insurance agencies in all 50 states that can place your classic car on a Hagerty classic car insurance policy. This allows you to work with your local insurance Agent to get the face-to-face interaction and dedicated service that you're used to, while getting the highest quality insurance product for your classic car.


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Heart surgery in children is done to repair heart defects a child is born with (congenital heart defects) and heart diseases a child gets after birth that need surgery. The surgery is needed for the child's well-being.
There are many kinds of heart defects. Some are minor, and others are more serious. Defects can occur inside the heart or in the large blood vessels outside the heart. Some heart defects may need surgery right after the baby is born. For others, your child may be able to safely wait for months or years to have surgery.
One surgery may be enough to repair the heart defect, but sometimes a series of procedures is needed. Three different techniques for fixing congenital defects of the heart in children are described below.
Open-heart surgery is when the surgeon uses a heart-lung bypass machine.
For some heart defect repairs, the incision is made on the side of the chest, between the ribs. This is called a thoracotomy. It is sometimes called closed-heart surgery. This surgery is done using special instruments and a camera.
Another way to fix defects in the heart is to insert a few small tubes into an artery in the leg and pass them up to the heart. Only some heart defects can be repaired this way.
For more information about specific repairs, see: Congenital heart defect corrective surgeries
Some heart defects need repair soon after birth. For others, it is better to wait months or years. Certain heart defects may not need to be repaired.
In general, symptoms that indicate that surgery is needed are:
Hospitals and medical centers that perform heart surgery on children have surgeons, nurses, and technicians who are specially trained to perform these surgeries. They also have staff who will take care of your child after surgery.
Risks for any surgery are:
Additional risks of heart surgery are:
If your child is talking, tell them about the surgery. If you have a preschool-aged child, tell them the day before what will happen. Say, for example, "We are going to the hospital to stay for a few days. The doctor is going to do an operation on your heart to make it work better."
If your child is older, start talking about the procedure 1 week before the surgery. You should involve the child's life specialist (someone who helps children and their families during times like major surgery) and show the child the hospital and surgical areas.
Your child may need many different tests:
Always tell your child's doctor or nurse what drugs your child is taking. Include drugs, herbs, and vitamins you bought without a prescription.
During the days before the surgery:
On the day of the surgery:
Most children who have open-heart surgery need to stay in the intensive care unit (ICU) for 2 to 4 days right after surgery. They usually stay in the hospital for 5 to 7 more days after they leave the ICU. Stays in the intensive care unit and the hospital are usually shorter for patients who have closed-heart surgery.
During their time in the ICU, your child will have:
By the time your child leaves the ICU, most of the tubes and wires will be removed. Your child will be encouraged to start many of their regular daily activities. Some children may begin eating or drinking on their own within 1 or 2 days, but others may take longer.
When your child is discharged from the hospital, parents and caregivers are taught what activities are okay for their child to do, how to care for the incision, and how to give medicines their child may need.
Your child needs at least several more weeks at home to recover. Talk with your doctor about when your child can return to school or daycare.
Your child will need follow-up visits with a cardiologist (heart doctor) every 6 to 12 months. Your child may need to take antibiotics before going to the dentist for teeth cleaning or other dental procedures, to prevent serious heart infections. Ask the cardiologist if this is necessary.
The outcome of heart surgery depends on the child's condition, the type of defect, and the type of surgery that was done. Many children recover completely and lead normal, active lives.
Heart surgery - pediatric; Heart surgery for children; Acquired heart disease, Heart valve surgery - children
Recommendations for preparing children and adolescents for invasive cardiac procedures: A statement from the American Heart Association Pediatric Nursing Subcommittee of the Council on Cardiovascular Nursing in collaboration with the Council on Cardiovascular Diseases of the Young. Circulation. 2003;108:2250-2564.
Webb GD, Smallhorn JF, Therrien J, Redington AN. Congenital heart disease. In: Zipes DP, Libby P, Bonow RO, Braunwald E, eds. Braunwald's Heart Disease: A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine, 8th ed. St. Louis, Mo; WB Saunders; 2007:chap 61.
Reviewed by: David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc., and Michael A. Chen, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Harborview Medical Center, University of Washington Medical School, Seattle, Washington.
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The British hospital treating the former Kate Middleton admitted Wednesday it was victimized by a crank call in which information on her condition was given out to woman impersonating Queen Elizabeth II.
King Edward VII's hospital in London acknowledged that an Australian radio station made a hoax call to the hospital in the early hours Tuesday — and the hospital fell for it.
The 30-year-old Duchess of Cambridge is pregnant and is being treated at the hospital for severe morning sickness.
A woman using the often-mimicked voice of the monarch asked after the duchess' health — and was told that Kate "hasn't had any retching with me and she's been sleeping on and off."
"She's sleeping at the moment and she has had an uneventful night. She's been given some fluids. She's stable at the moment," the kindly nurse informed the supposed queen and Prince Charles on the station's recording. A dog yaps in the background while the "queen" and her son talk about traveling to the hospital to check in on the patient.
"I would suggest that any time after 9 o'clock will be suitable to visit," the nurse said. "We'll be getting her freshened up."
The duchess is married to the queen's grandson, Prince William.
The hospital says the call had been transferred to a ward and the conversation was held with one of its nursing staff. Its telephone protocols are being reviewed, the hospital said in a statement.
The Australian station 2DayFM has placed the recording of the conversation on its website.
The duchess is spending her third day in the hospital while being treated for acute morning sickness.
William visited his wife at the hospital for several hours on Tuesday, while media from around the world camped outside, seeking news on the royal pregnancy. Officials from St. James's Palace have said the duchess was not yet 12 weeks pregnant.


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I shouldn't have been surprised to see the National Rifle Association's Wayne LaPierre lay the blame for the disgusting, heart-wrenching tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut, firmly at the feet of violent video games. I really shouldn't have.
A few years back, I wrote a lengthy op-ed piece about the then-current rage du jour against video games: the inclusion of the Taliban as playable characters in the freshly rebooted Medal of Honor. Those were the days. It was a simpler time, when 4,000-word diatribes were acceptable, and people could focus their rage at easily identifiable villains like former lawyer Jack Thompson, who has been disgraced so many times he should have a punch card that would give him the tenth disgrace for free.
Then I came back once more and avoided the op-ed angle, but obsessively covered the case of Brown v. the Entertainment Merchants Association, which the Californian judicial system punted upwards until it landed in the lap of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court upheld sanity, and ruled that video games were not the same as pornography and couldn't be classified as such. They are works of art, thus they are protected.
The gaming industry breathed a sigh of relief and soldiered on, bolstered by years of surviving assaults from religious leaders, outraged stereotypical soccer moms, and the odd politician looking to score cheap points on the campaign trail. And yet here we are again, with the gaming industry being sized up as a scapegoat for all the ills of the world. Perhaps the creationists are right, because we sure don't seem to evolve in our opinions, even when faced with overwhelming amounts of evidence stating the contrary.
A bit of personal background: I grew up in Kansas, surrounded by guns. I was taken hunting as a kid, and went to plenty of gun shows when I didn't have anything better to do. I also was present at more than a few shootings, and watched as a a guy I hung out with a few times shot and killed one of our classmates. For the record, the gunman was not a big gamer.
I never equated guns directly to violence; I equated violence to violent people. I do support stronger gun laws, but not as a reaction to a tragedy. Having said that, Wayne LaPierre is a repugnant swine, and the NRA has shown itself to be what it is: a lobby group and nothing more.
The NRA wants you to believe that it is the shining beacon in the night of gun rights suppression. It wants you to think that its goal is to defend the Constitutional right to bear arms. It wants you to think it is a morally upright institution, there to defend American values. It's not. It's a lobby group, whose sole purpose is to sell more guns, no matter what.
When LaPierre took the stage on December 21, just one week after Adam Lanza became America's nightmare, LaPierre was willing to say or do anything to make sure people were not talking about limiting his industry's business. And hey, if you want a gun, that is your right. If you feel like the only way you can properly hunt is with an assault rifle, then Bambi is doomed. And if you are so gripped by fear that you think you are at risk of being attacked by a dozen or so thugs high on bath salts, looking to eat faces, then by all means equip yourself with enough firearms to invade a small, unsuspecting country – Luxembourg, maybe – and may God be with you. But LaPierre is not helping. He doesn't give a damn about you. If you aren't buying a gun, you are nothing to him. He is salesman that uses words like "freedom" and "patriotism" to ensure that his clients remain in business. He'll say or do anything to that end, even if he himself doesn't believe it.
LaPierre was quick to blame anyone and everything. Given time, he may have even blamed the sun, and its hippie-ish tendencies to give away its life-sustaining product for free, like a sucker. But the one industry that he did blame, and the one that has me back yet again shaking my head at the world, is video games, which LaPierre singled out repeatedly in the aftermath of our latest gun-fueled national tragedy.
"And here's another dirty little truth that the media try their best to conceal," LaPierre said during the NRA press conference following the Sandy Hook shootings. "There exists in this country, sadly, a callous, corrupt and corrupting shadow industry that sells and stows violence against its own people. Through vicious, violent video games with names like Bullet Storm, Grand Theft Auto, Mortal Kombat, and Splatterhouse."
It's also worth noting that, less than a month later, the NRA released its own video game on iOS that allows you to shoot targets. That in itself may not have been damning, but it was originally released as acceptable for ages 4+ up, a rating the NRA apparently had no problem with. The age "restriction" has since been adjusted upwards following controversy surrounding the game.
It's easy to dismiss LaPierre as a nut, but that isn't accurate. He knows what he is saying – he is a huckster for his employers, and if Phillip Morris hired him, he would be on TV talking about how smokers actually have stronger lungs because they don't just breathe the pansy air that the rest of us do. They load it up with "soothing" chemicals that have helped conditioned them. He will say whatever it takes to make his employers, the gun retailers of America, a better profit. And there is no better guarantee of revenue than fear.
LaPierre and countless others just like him profit from fear. They want you scared because that makes it easier to manipulate the public discourse. It also makes it easier to sell firearms – fear of another Sandy Hook, fear of losing your rights, the fear of the world in general.
Fear sells. And fear, when combined with simplistic arguments, makes a lasting impression. Blaming video games for Newtown makes sense. It isn't logical, but it makes sense. The games convey violence, and they can be shocking if you don't know what you are getting in to. It's a simple answer for a massively complicated problem. It's the kind of answer that desperate people are happy to accept because it gives them an answer to an unanswerable question.
LaPierre is far from alone in his condemnation of video games. In the last few weeks, we've seen several laws proposed that would directly affect the video game industry. One proposal from Representative Jim Matheson (D-Utah) requires that the ESRB ratings become legally binding. It is an interesting idea, but a reactionary one, and one that would again single out the video game industry with no real, empirical evidence to support doing so. But at least it's better than the proposal from Missouri State Representative Diane Franklin, which would put a tax on any "violent video games." The quotes are in there because the language of the proposed bill reveals a significant lack of care or understanding as it would tax any game with a rating of "Teen" or above. That would include such nightmarish titles as Guitar Hero III, The Simpsons Game, and the gore-filled Dance Central.
Following the news, it's easy to think that we are all doomed. During this last election, there was a lot of discussion about bias in the media. And there is. Some more than others, but the majority of the media have a bias towards sensationalism, not ideology. So when something like Newtown happens, the media will dissect it. You'll soon know everything there is to know about Adam Lanza. If there is any story to be told, the media will tell it, and spin it to make it as interesting as possible. The more dangerous the better.
In an attempt to combat that force, I'll tell you something you probably didn't know if you watch a lot of news: things aren't that bad. Despite some truly awful events of late, and even with the growing sense of desperation nurtured by ideologically driven politics that force people to choose sides, thus instantly putting yourself at odds with anyone you disagree with, the world is not going to Hell in a hand basket. It just feels that way.
"The number of people killed in battle – calculated per 100,000 population – has dropped by 1,000-fold over the centuries as civilizations evolved," Steve Pinker, professor of psychologist at Harvard and author of The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined wrote. "Before there were organized countries, battles killed on average more than 500 out of every 100,000 people. In 19th century France, it was 70. In the 20th century with two world wars and a few genocides, it was 60. Now battlefield deaths are down to three-tenths of a person per 100,000."
Pinker further goes on to state that this is the most peaceful our species has ever been. And that is despite, apparently, video games warping our brains and turning children into mini-Pol Pots – who, by the way, probably wasn't a big gamer, what with him having been born in 1925 and all.
Here's another fact you don't hear often enough: over the last few decades, the murder rate in America has dropped significantly. In fact, 2011 marks the lowest murder rate since stats have been kept, beginning in 1960. The highest murder rate was actually in 1980, a year not know for its gaming acumen. If violent video games were the horror that politicians and their ilk would like you to believe, shouldn't that murder rate be spiking as games are growing more violent, and more kids are playing them than ever before?
I could also go on about the inaccuracies regarding the numerous studies involving violent video games. I could go on about the inconclusive results. I could even go on about the dozens of studies that actually say violent video games are good for kids, and can even act as relief for some, but what's the point? There are no conclusive studies.
After playing video games for decades now, violent and otherwise, the only aggressive tendencies I'm feeling are for politicians and public figures who are connecting dots that just aren't there. They are looking for a simple answer to a complex question. It would be nice if violent video games were responsible for tragedies like Newtown and Aurora, Colorado. It would be so reassuring to find that there was one quantifiable explanation, because that would mean we could fix it. We could get rid of violent video games and never fear these tragic shootings again. Huzzah! Let's plan some game burning parties.
Violent video games are not a problem for society, they are a reflection of it. Which is worse: a game that allows you to play as a soldier and shoot terrorists, or CNN displaying live footage from a war zone? Is that not a more realistic source for people becoming desensitized to violence?
The world can be a dangerous place, without question. Newtown is just the most recent example, and it's an example we've seen repeated too often. Sadly, these episodes are likely to continue regardless of what we do.
Grand Theft Auto didn't exist when Charles Whitman climbed the tower at the University of Texas and opened fire. Erica Menendez, the woman that recently pushed a stranger into an oncoming train in the New York subway is homeless, and probably didn't spend her money on violent video games. She instead blamed her anger on the 9/11 attacks, which seems like a far more likely source of aggression for this generation than violent video games.
So the war drums continue to pound. We need a scapegoat, so why not violent video games? They are an easy target. They simulate violence, so it makes it easy blame real life violent events on them.
President Obama recently commissioned studies on the effect of violent media on aggressive tendencies, and while that is still a bit reactionary, at least it is the chance to see the research properly. Maybe it will say this is all a lot of nothing. Maybe it will show a correlation between violent games and violent actions. But at least we will have some science to back up such claims, and the distraction and misdirection can give way to the search for real answers.Because right now, we just don't know.
So draw your own conclusions. (Might as well, since the politicians and lobbyists are.) Humanity has a history of being rotten to one another, and we didn't need video games to justify bad behavior. In fact, Western society is in better shape now than it ever has been. Even with the games. Even with the R-rated movies. Even with the devil's rock n' roll that was supposed to lead us to disaster more than half a century ago.
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Hunting, NYC style: Owners set dogs on alley rats
NEW YORK (AP) — Bodies tensed and noses twitching, the dogs sniff the hunting ground before them: a lower Manhattan alley, grimy, dim and perfect for rats. With a terse command — "Now!" — the chase is on.
Circling, bounding over and pawing at a mound of garbage bags, the four dogs quickly have rodents on the run.
"Come on ... I mean, 'tally ho!' says one of their owners, Susan Friedenberg. In a whirl of barks, pants and wagging tails, dogs tunnel among the bags and bolt down the alley as their quarry tries to scurry away.
Within five minutes, the city has two fewer rats.
In a scrappy, streetwise cousin of mannerly countryside fox hunts, on terrain far from the European farms and fields where many of the dogs' ancestors were bred to scramble after vermin and foxes, their masters sport trash-poking sticks instead of riding crops and say it's just as viable an exercise for the animals' centuries-old skills.
"It's about maintaining the breed type through actual work," says Richard Reynolds, a New Jersey-based business analyst and longtime dog breeder who might be considered the group's organizer — if it would accept being called organized.
Known with a chuckle as the Ryders Alley Trencher-fed Society — parse the acronym — the rodent-hunters have been scouring downtown byways for more than a decade, meeting weekly when weather allows.
On a couple of recent nights, an eclectic group of ratters converged on an alley near City Hall about an hour after sunset. The lineups included two border terriers; a wire-haired dachshund; a Jack Russell terrier/Australian cattle dog mix; a Patterdale terrier, an intense, no-nonsense breed that's uncommon in this country; and a feist, a type of dog developed in the American South to tree squirrels.
"Get 'im! Go!" Serge Lozach yelled as his cairn terrier, Hudson, streaked down an alley after a fleeing rat. Unlike many of the other owners, Lozach doesn't breed or show dogs, but he has taken Hudson to several alley hunts.
"I like watching him have fun," Lozach said.
Although the dogs have hunting instincts, it takes training to capitalize on them. Just because your pet runs after backyard squirrels doesn't mean it could ever catch one.
When at its best, the alley pack works together. One dog will sniff out a rat and signal its whereabouts, often by barking. Another leaps at the hideaway to rout the quarry, and then a third lurches to catch it as it flees. A rat that scuttles into the open might get caught in a rundown, or even a tug of war, between dogs that circle and flank it.
After making a kill with a bite or a shake, the hunters trot back, rat in mouth, and allow their owners to take it from their jaws. The night's kill ends up in a trash bin.
There's no official estimate of how many rats rove the city's streets, basements, parks and subways. But there are plenty.
Officials have tried a number of innovative tactics to rout them, including a 2007 city Health Department initiative that sent inspectors with hand-held computers to map infestations in a Bronx neighborhood and then followed up with owners to address the problems.
Recently, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority agreed to let an Arizona-based company test a form of rat birth control by setting out bait in some subway stations this summer.
But the terrier forays are an unofficial undertaking, and participants say they're less about killing rats than giving dogs the experience of chasing them. The Health Department declined to comment on the hunts.
The idea has a long history. A noted 1851 examination of working-class life in London describes rat-catchers working the city's streets with ferrets and terriers. More recently, a rat-catching dachshund got attention in Seattle when its owner happened by while City Councilman Tom Rasmussen was checking out a downtown cleanup program in 2010. Rasmussen snapped a picture of the dog, rat in mouth, and posted the photo on his website.
There's even an American dog breed called a rat terrier, though its origins lie on farms.
Rat-tracking recently became an official canine sport, called "barn hunt." Dogs get two minutes to sniff around a hay-bale maze and indicate where they smell a rat concealed in a crush-proof, aerated tube; the dog never catches the quarry. Dozens of dogs competed in the first trials this past month in Columbia, Mo.
While dog owners may see it as time-honored pursuit, rat-hunting riles animal-rights advocates. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which opposes hunting in general, expressed outrage after video of a dog snatching rats in a New York City park surfaced online two years ago. PETA Spokesman Martin Mersereau calls the alley rat quests "a twisted blood sport masquerading as rodent control."
Reynolds counters that "there are lots of worse things that people do to rats," noting that poisons can sicken the animals for hours.
As for the dogs, they have sometimes gotten stuck in waste bins or tumbled into holes, and a recent night left two with scrapes. But Reynolds says none has ever been seriously hurt or fallen ill.
In one recent foray, the dogs dispatched 13 rats within about a half-hour.
The dogs prowled and prodded for about 90 more minutes before the group gave up for the night. But not to worry, said dachshund owner Trudy Kawami.
"There will always be a million rats in the naked city."
Follow Jennifer Peltz at http://twitter.com/jennpeltz


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